Monday, July 10, 2017

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare - Series Review

I just finished reading the entire Mortal Instruments series, by Cassandra Clare

*I'm sorry I've been MIA for so long - uni just ended for the summer so now I have loads of time to read and interact more with you guys, my lovely readers!*

So this review will be a whole lot more straight-forward than my single-book series, as I'm reviewing it as a whole. This series is an amazing roller-coaster of emotions and plot, with tiny details that fit together like puzzle pieces to create an amazing story. It has its ups and downs, like any long series, however is wrapped up amazingly in the end!

Now I did the thing that so many people recommended, and read The Infernal Devices before reading the last three Mortal Instrument books, and, I must say, that that was the perfect way to read the series! The last three books are so much more emotional when you actually know who Brother Zachariah and Tessa are, and why Magnus mentions a loyalty to the Herondales! It was also great to have read The Bane Chronicles in between, because he talks about those stories a lot! I also have reviews for both of those sections of the Shadowhunters books!

And now for the last three books; City of Fallen Angels, City of Lost Souls and City of Heavenly Fire!

These three books really felt separate from the first three - whether it is because the main villain of the first 3 books is no longer a concern, or if it's because I waited a while before reading the last 3, but there was a different vibe for sure.

Books 4 and 5 felt like they could have been combined in one - they both seemed loose, not deep enough compared to the others. While the stories were interesting, they felt fluffy. I am sure that the two stories brought from these books could have been put in one big book and would have been just as great!

In this second half, we meet loads of new characters - we get to know Sebastian and his motives better, Jordan is presented, as well as a bunch of other secondary characters that all become increasingly relevant in the best ways.

What I loved is that we get to know the secondary characters more - the first three books were heavily centered around Clary and Jace: Instead, these books show you deeper aspects of Isabelle, Alec, Simon, Magnus, and Maia, which was incredibly interesting! Their backstories and personal stories really bring another color to the books that I loved! I actually really like Sizzy and Malec! While Clace was annoying in books 1-5, they were a lot more credible in book 6!

In general, book 6 was the one that brought out the most emotions in me - Simon's sacrifice, in the end, was heartbreaking! However, I was never 100% sure that some characters died until the book was over and they never showed up again - it just never sank in? But the whole plot of book 6 was intricate and well done, and very unique compared to the rest of the books.

Another thing I liked about book 6 is that it tied a lot of loose ends - are there really several dimensions of Hell? What if Sebastian was never evil? What about Magnus and his past? What if Clary never told Simon about the Shadow World? So many of these questions were answered and it was done elegantly, cleverly and incredibly well!

And now I'm going into spoilers! Stop here if you haven't read the whole series! There were so many parts that I loved, while there were others that I didn't like as much. Simon is one of my favorite characters - he is so nice and honest yet a total nerd. But I can't believe that he was two-timing Maia and Izzy... I felt like that was out of character, but the way he handled it was totally in character, if that makes sense. BUT when Simon's memories are taken away at the end of book 6, I almost cried. How could he not know anyone, not even Clary?! I was broken! But then he calls his band The Mortal Instruments and I squealed a bit because his memories were coming back! Cassie Clare you are cruel! Also, you guys by now know my love for Jem, from The Infernal Devices. My favorite character ever, he is back in these books as Brother Zachariah, but there are LOADS of hints as to who he is - his 'need' to protect Jace due to his Herondale bloodline, his past love towards two people, his casual Chinese phrases... MY HEART! So in book 6 he touches Jace with a special rune, and the Heavenly Fire from Jace cleans the demon poison from his blood and he is healed and becomes himself again! Then he shows up with Tessa at Jocelyn and Luke's wedding and my fangirl heart was happy. These books got increasingly lovey-dovey, though. It some ways it was nice and sweet and other times it just felt in the way, or enforced. Also can we talk about how Jordan just dies, and then is ignored? By the end of the book I had forgotten that he died until someone mentioned it again. I wish that could have been drawn out a bit more. When Sebastian was killed by Clary (which was a strange scene but eh you can't have everything, right?) he becomes himself again - the person he would have been without demon blood, and we get a bit of Sebastian redemption. He apologizes for his actions and wishes things could be different. In a way it was nice to know that he wasn't a bad person on his own account. But he's still a really intense villain!One of my favorite parts of book 6 is when each of the main characters were in one of the demon realms, and they each started dreaming of their deepest desires. This was done perfectly, and really reflected each of the characters unexpectedly. Honestly was an amazing section, but at the same time it was super dorky and sweet and I loved it!

There is so much more I could talk about when it comes to this series, but don't want this review to become pages and pages long!

I'm giving this entire series a 4/5 feathers!

Who is your favorite member of the Shadow World? Let me know!

Stay bookish!

2 comments:

I will admit, I enjoyed the first three books more than the last three books. But then we had Sebastian, who is absolutely fantastic, as evil as he was! And then...when Jem made his appearance...MY POOR HEART. I was over the moon that Jem was in it!!! Ahhh, this makes me really want to reread the series too now! :D

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this post! Any and all comments make me smile, and I will reply to all of them! I can reply in English, French, and sometimes in Dutch and German. Have an absolutely fabulous day! <3